American Horror Story: S01 Ep06 – Piggy Piggy

What happened?

A flashback to 1994 details how Tate stalked his school, shooting classmates. Many asked why he did it, including the armed police officer that was forced to shoot him dead at his home when he reached for his gun. Violet learns about this incident, and is then confronted by Constance who explains that Tate is a spirit that does not know he is dead and she hoped his counselling sessions would help him arrive at that truth himself.

Constance and Moira are also both involved in feeding Vivien various meats, to the extent of her eating raw brains. Vivien does go to see the nurse that saw her baby scan, and the nurse is terrified and warns she is pregnant with an evil beast. Meanwhile Vivien and Ben have split, but Ben is working at the house and still holding on for a reconciliation.

Violet struggles to handle being around Tate now she knows what he is. But he tells her he loves her and, eventually, she seems to relent after he saves her from a suicide attempt and they lie down together.

Thoughts

By this show’s regular standards, this was a more sedate episode in terms of pacing and frantic editing, but probably the most out there in terms of concept. I mean six episodes in and I am perfectly accepting of ghosts and living people interacting normally, and even how the leading lady can sit down and tuck into a bowl of raw brain!

There’s definitely a Rosemary’s Baby vibe being channelled with Vivien’s pregnancy, and whatever it is she is giving birth to, Constance and Moira are both aware of what it is and very keen on it to go ahead. Evidently they are feeding the thing raw meat because that’s what the beast wants – Mrs. Comet watching with me was very explicitly informing me that this kind of food was absolutely not what pregnant women are advised to eat. The nurse remarked that she had seen a cloven hoof in the pregnancy scan, but until the ‘baby’ emerges it’s impossible to know what it will be.

I actually expect it to come out looking normal. Vivien did have another scan after all, and that one appeared to occur without alarm, so in that respect it’ll probably be like The Omen. I anticipate references to that to be forthcoming!

Ben and his treatment of the man with a fear of Piggyman was a relative sideline this episode. Indeed, I was surprised to see that he had moved out already given how adamantly he was willing to fight for his family at the end of the last episode. There was that moment where Vivien held his hand during the pregnancy scan, however, so all isn’t lost for those two. Vivien has definitely turned her attentions to the hunky security man, of course. The way Ben was viewing him, too, made me think he might be next in line when the killing happens! Indeed, if Ben is demanded by the house (or whatever) to father the baby then security man might be considered a threat to that needing to removed.

The big story here was about Tate. The opening scene, showing the frightened students getting picked off one by one, was a standout and terrifyingly all-too-real moment. The lack of music and coldness to it all made it so tense and stark it showed that American Horror Story has the capacity to deliver pure horror free of frills and gimmicks and weirdness.

I liked that Constance had the conversation with Violet early in the episode to clarify that Tate was a ghost that didn’t know he was dead, and that it was the fact he died in the house that was the important element that kept him around. As Addy, from beyond, would apparently state she was pleased her mother had failed to get her onto the grounds of the house when she was dying so she could avoid the same fate. Constance also showed more dimensions to her very complicated character in her heartfelt declaration of love and affection for Addy. It’s good that she had a little more humanising, though I wouldn’t want her to lose the vicious edge and sharp tongue we first saw in the Pilot episode.

Whilst neither Ben nor Vivien have yet to be convinced there are really ghosts in the world, Violet saw all the phantoms in the basement and, of course, has the all-too-vivid spirit of Tate madly in love with her. Emphasis on the ‘madly’. His arc, it seems, is to come to terms with what he is. I suspect he’s not going to take that well, and his unpredictable quality makes him impossible to gauge. Indeed, the central question about why he went on a killing spree remains a huge question mark. As the teacher said, maybe he just wasn’t a good person and that’s all the reason there is.

Violet had her strongest performance here. I didn’t really buy that she would attempt suicide as she did – that seemed to come out of nowhere. But then the nature of a suicidal disposition is perhaps best summed up as an out of the blue psychological break. And the scars on her arm show she is prone to self-harming. I guess it’s just the act didn’t seem like something that was being built to – it just suddenly started happening.

Where do the two of them go from here? Well, Violet will either fall for Tate and then have to deal with the fact that he’s unpredictable, never going to age and not able to leave the house (apart from on Halloween). More likely she’ll be on hand to help him figure out what he is, but even when that happens I don’t think that necessarily means he will vanish and move on. Like Moira and the other ghosts, he might just be a part of the fixtures and fittings now!

What was the best part?

Without doubt the opening flashback showing the kids in the library getting picked off one by one by Tate. There was a stillness about the scene in terms of the lack of music, and how we never saw Tate’s face until the end. And the differing reactions of the kids before they all met their fate just kept the whole thing feeling shocking. In light of actual incidents of this kind of killing spree being true to life that made it all the more harrowing. Definitely American Horror Story’s most intense scene so far.

What do I think will happen next?

I expect this season is going to have a lot of focus on just what exactly is gestating inside Vivien. It’s surely going to be some form of devil-child, though maybe it will take the form of a regular-looking baby. Obviously they should call it Damien. Otherwise the weird romance between Tate and Violet will develop. Either she’ll help him discover what he is so he can ‘move on’ (if that’s possible), or their feelings for each other will grow stronger and the pair of them will actually be in love with each other. The latter seems more likely as it’s the one with more plot mileage.

American Horror Story: S01 Ep5 – Halloween Part 2

What happened?

The missing Violet had actually just ventured out with Tate on a date, and a desire to lose her virginity. Tate seemed unable to complete the act, however, and then a gang of ghoulish teenagers arrived with a bone to pick with Tate – talking of how he had shot them years ago. Tate got angry and denied it, but flashes of some disturbing memory returned to him.

Constance had to cope with the death of Addy and told Violet stated that Tate was her son. Meanwhile Ben and Vivien had to contend with Hayden who took a turn for the violent until the home security officer arrived and took her away. She disappeared as the sun rose. And whilst the Burns Man’s fate was left unknown, other spirits returned to the house before the sun rose, all apparently trapped in that place. Ben and Vivien, still in disbelief at such supernatural possibilities, were not reconciled; Vivien demanded he was to leave and yet Ben was adamant he was not giving up on his family.

Thoughts

So. . . Tate’s definitely a ghost, right? I mean, those kids claimed he had killed them many years ago (fourteen, I think, or something like that) and since he hasn’t aged I have to figure he is a ghost just like them, only he is bound to the house. The revelation that Constance was his mother had occurred to me, but it did make me struggle to make sense of the phone call I thought Ben had had with one of Tate’s parents when he was discussing continuing treatment. Either I didn’t quite grasp who was on the other end of the phone or there’s something of an unclear issue there.

Constance being Tate’s mother wasn’t otherwise that troubling – she had mentioned there had been one good son so Tate was a natural fit. Quite what it means for Constance’s ghost status is another matter. I am still thinking that she is alive, as was Addy (I think). I believe the real tragedy of Addy’s death, for Constance, was that she died outside of the grounds of the house and so could not return as a spirit in the same way Tate and Moira have.

I did like the gang of teenage ghosts, though. Their make-up effects were disgusting, and their anger and appearance really menacing. The demand for answers was all they wanted, something Tate seemed unable to provide. Is he actually unaware of what he did? He really seemed shocked by the memories himself? I am guessing he is aware of his ‘spirit status’, considering he was aware of when he could leave the house.

The ending with all the spirits we currently know about returning to the house before sunrise produced mixed feelings in me. I liked the detail of the two nurses, for example. But it made me think that we really ought to have been seeing a lot more ghosts returning to the house because I am absolutely certain there are going to be more deaths and more ghouls showing up before this season is done. Indeed, if the episode tradition maintains as it has so far then I can expect them in the next episode!

So the continuity-freak in me would have preferred to have seen glimpses of other ghosts just to give a sense that there was more, but that was my only problem with it. In principle the underlining of the fact that these are people that once had lives that got stopped in the moment and now they are stuck, bound to the house in a limbo, is a nice one.

Interesting thought I’ve had: If Tate is unaware of what he is, then maybe that lack of awareness allows him to move more freely throughout the world. I only suggest that because perhaps even Ben, Vivien and Violet are already dead, too, and are unaware of it and that’s why they are free to move around, too. It’s pretty crazy, I know, but then this show is full on nuts.

Throwaway question: What the hell was that hand that reached out from under the bed for Violet?

Ben’s mistress was a nice turn up of craziness. The scenes of her apparently exploding the dog in the microwave (for a while I thought she really had and the dog we saw afterwards was a spirit dog!) and bathing in the bath, choking up her own rotting insides, they were just all great touches of grisly style. American Horror Story these past two episodes actually felt more like a film than it usually does. I can’t help but be impressed by how it just goes for it and manages to pull it off. What so easily could have been a total, tasteless mess is instead a riotous, demented joy.

We didn’t get to see what happened with Burns Man. Last we saw of him was when he was confronted by the gay guy, just when he looked set on striking a few pyromaniac matches. Maybe the scene was supposed to state that Burns Man got stopped in his tracks and so went on his way – or maybe the next episode will reveal what it was that actually occurred to him. I doubt he’s dead, though. Whilst Hayden may now be permanently gone (big question mark about that) Ben’s life isn’t going to free of the Burns Man that easily.

Of course, Vivien and Ben have some serious differences to sort out. I expect things won’t be rosy between them for a while, but since he is determined to stay and make things work then he’ll be around for the foreseeable. So they’ve all survived Halloween, except for poor Addy (again, question marks over whether we’ll see her again) and there’s been just a touch more clarification about the nature of the spirits in the house. It’s near impossible to guess where the show goes to next, but I am absolutely loving it so far. I am now entrenched with the mindset that each episode, when I start it, is going to be a cracker, as that has been the case so far. I can’t think of any new series, just this many shows in, that has had me thinking the same way.

Let’s hope the next one’s a cracker then!

What was the best part?

For me it was the scenes with the murdered kids returning to interrogate their murderer, Tate. From the image of the five of them striding towards the house to chasing Tate before they came to demanding why he had done it. It sets up further intrigue around his character, and what exactly he is and what he thinks he is. A whole episode could have been formed around this central plotline – but this show likes to move quicker and have more going on to allow that to be the case, which is both a good and bad thing for various reasons, but mostly a good thing.

What do I think will happen next?

Sheesh, honestly I don’t know! I mean how Ben and Vivien get along will be a backbone, but quite where the next ghost is coming from, or what crackerjack scheme Burns Man will present, or what Tate might do. . . These are all elements in the mix and I’ve not even touched on the doctor and his wife backstory of the house! No, there’s just too much madness to even attempt to make predictive sense of. Better to just strap in and enjoy the ride for now.

American Horror Story: S01 Ep4 – Halloween Part 1

What happened?

Halloween is apparently a time when the dead spirits can roam freely for one day. As such life for the Harmon family at the house they are desperately trying to sell seems more over-run with activity than ever. The ghostly twins are seen throwing eggs, and a dead gay couple return to argue and offer advice about changing the look of the place. At the end of the episode Ben’s dead ex-mistress even turns up knocking at the door!

Meanwhile the man in the gimp suit is constantly lurking around and, by the episode’s end, may have taken Violet away. Ben and Vivien are looking for her when they return home, having been at the hospital after an argument. Vivien had demanded that Ben leave but then had pains like her baby was kicking. When the nurse checked it on a monitor she collapsed, apparently shocked.

Moira was allowed freedom to go and visit her mother, and she turned off the machine keeping her alive. Her mother’s spirit told her to come with her, but a tearful Moira had to say that she was unable to. Elsewhere Addy had been given a mask and a dress to go trick or treating as a pretty girl, but then she ran into the road without looking and was hit by a car. A devastated Constance tried to drag her back to the house but eventually stopped and sobbed over the body.

Thoughts

Right. OK. It’s time to start asking some hard questions about this show, because it sure is starting to ask some seriously confusing questions of me. The first and most obvious question has to be: How many of the main cast members are ghosts? I mean, apart from the ‘ghosts of the week’ that show up (although I hope Zachary Quinto shows up again because his performance here was a delight) I know that Moira is a ghost. She’s a confirmed. Outside of the Harmon family (and, for now, I am assuming they aren’t dead and don’t know it because they are so free to come and go from the house) there’s Tate, Burns Man, Constance and Addy. Constance has aged since her flashback, but then Moira veers from old to young depending on who sees her so that’s no reliable marker. However, for now, I am going to believe she’s not a ghost.

Tate I am definitely not sure about. It seems crucial that he’s never away from the house. There’s the added suggestion that he’s also the figure in the gimp suit. The last part I am not so sure about – but him being a ghost makes sense. He’s had visions of himself in a gory state, so maybe that’s just his own appearance when he died that ‘haunts’ his psyche. Gimp suit man seems like a bigger mystery waiting to be unveiled.

Addy is confusing. There was some remark made this episode by Constance, about how she had looked after her for 35 years. I think it was 35 years, anyway. At first I didn’t think much of it, to be honest, I just sort of figured that Addy was much older than she looked (without sounding mean I’ll just say it’s difficult to tell how old people with Down’s Syndrome are) and that was her age. Mrs. Comet, however, seemed to believe this confirmed she’d been around longer than her age and so must be a ghost.

The ending was interesting in that regard. It was almost like she was a ghost that could be killed by virtue of it being Halloween and her able to move more freely. And yet Constance trying to drag her back to the house raised the suggestion that getting her there would allow her to ‘live’ again – as in surviving indefinitely – and to that end maybe she really was a ghost. This is uncharted territory for me, firstly in establishing if Addy is a ghost and now also contesting the idea of what happens to a ghost that ‘dies’!

You know, for now, I am going to assume that Addy wasn’t a ghost. That the remark about 35 years was how I interpreted it. And that Constance trying to drag the body back to the house was so that she could become a ghost in the event of her death. That’s what I think for now.

Burns Man is another that appears to be free to come and go wherever he pleases so I don’t believe he is a ghost. He does really want that thousand pounds very badly, though. He’s definitely a totally bizarre character, and now he’s taking a serious turn for the nasty all bets are off about what he’s capable of. I suspect Ben might just end up finding a way to placate him, but I am confident he won’t be off the scene for long no matter what happens.

The opening scene once again repeated the tradition of showing a piece of the house’s history where someone got killed, this time a gay couple that met a bad end at the hands of the man in the gimp suit. For the record, I think the man in the gimp suit is the grown form of the dead baby that was pieced together by the doctor. That was a grim backstory and no mistake, and it’s hard to imagine much worse than a kind of zombie-dismembered baby that grew up, and took to wearing a tight-fitting gimp suit (maybe it’s the only thing that keeps all the pieces tightly compact together!).

Ben and Violet’s relationship is in a bad way, though the baby becoming restless (and there’s no doubt that it’s not going to take nine months to pop out and it’s definitely not going to be a normal bouncing baby!) seemed to happen as a result of their argument and Ben being taken away. The suggestion is that Vivien must remain in the house and, furthermore, the family need to be there together otherwise it’s not a happy foetus.

I can’t help but wonder if the spirit of the mistress turning up might present Ben with the opportunity to confess one or two things to his wife that will, at least, stop her from thinking he’s cheating on her. That does seems like an awful lot of revelation to come this early in a show’s lifetime, but on this show anything goes and the thing is so busy rattling along with half a dozen other outlandish plotlines then it could take that kind of bombshell right in its stride.

It still continues to impress, how it’s just so rapidly going at it full tilt. The one thing American Horror Story is not quite hitting the mark with is with the characters. It’s just such a stylised show, hyper-real, that the characters aren’t quite landing square. Vivien is faring the best, and remains the one I turn to as an emotional anchor. Ben is either sexually troubled and upset about it, or just stressed out by the number of secrets and pressures he is inundated with. Violet has a great fearless attitude, but we haven’t got beyond that so far. I can’t even gauge what it is she feels about Tate beyond someone to hang out with and be subjected to weird stuff, with a roll of the eyes and an insouciant walk away.

Don’t get me wrong, I like them – but I am watching them with a detached air. I am not living their experiences with them. I am watching them experience stuff.

Addy getting hit by the car was a brutal shock, mind. The image of her in the mask and costume, flat on the road with her limbs splayed awkwardly was a twisted vision. Trouble is with this show that everyone comes back so seeing a character get ‘killed off’ doesn’t quite contain the same level as shock value as other show’s might. Still, it contained a heck of an impact – lame pun intended. And Constance’s pernicious veering from horrible mother to all-caring sobbing wreck over her daughter’s body makes her a complicated, fascinating creation.

I am absolutely loving this show. The pace of it stops it being boring, and it still manages to generate really great moments of horror and what feel like overwhelming sequences that mark it out as quite unlike anything else I’ve seen on television. It’s got it’s issues with making its main characters relatable, but because it’s so entertaining as a compromise then the quality of the show wins the day. (That last statement always carries the caveat that its fast-pace and entertainment value is spot on now, but forever feels prone to wane or get old fast – let’s hope the show keeps dodging that seemingly inevitable eventuality.)

What was the best part?

The moment where the Burns Man was banging on the door, when Violet was home alone, with her father on the phone. . . it was just a moment of increasing intensity and madness that for a few seconds just threatened to feel totally overwhelming. And then there was that cool reveal of the Gimp Suit Man stood in the room behind her and that sealed off an already fraught situation just getting a whole lot worse.

What do I think will happen next?

Halloween night is set to play out, so that ought to bring some clarification over Addy’s fate. I am going to figure she is dead, but Constance’s reaction to it might allow better understanding about the nature of what it is to be dead, or die, around the house. Meanwhile Ben and Violet are surely to be concentrating on the hunt for Violet. No doubt she’ll turn up alive and well, and maybe Tate will have intervened along the way for that. I’d be amazed if it didn’t involve a trip to the basement! However, there’s the dead mistress for Ben to contend with, now. If he didn’t believe in ghosts already he most certainly will have to now, and if he confesses all to Vivien then she will, too.

American Horror Story: S01 Ep03 – Murder House

What happened?

Vivien’s attempts to move are thwarted by the realisation Ben’s handling of their finances has rendered them unable to leave without selling the house. Then she learns that the house is a notorious horror home, even featuring as part of a tour, and is known as the “murder house”. A couple used to live there performing abortions, but the doctor wasn’t just killing the unborn foetuses and was performing all manner of bizarre and grisly experiments.

Vivien does experience some bleeding but, though the doctor considers it harmless “spotting”, it seemed to get better when she returned to the house. The wife of the murdering doctor also appeared, apparently as a potential buyer, although Vivien never noticed the huge wound in the back of her head before she disappeared into thin air.

Ben had a bad time, experiencing blackouts drawing him to a patch of land in the garden he felt compelled to dig up. When one of his patients disappeared initial worries that he killed her turned out to be that she had killed herself after he had been blanking her. Whilst dealing with that and his Vivien’s pregnancy scare he missed an appointment with his mistress, Hayden, who wanted to keep the baby and tell Vivien everything. The burned man showed up and killed her, and buried her in the hole Ben had dug.

In the hole already were the remains of the housekeeper, Moira, and Constance slyly remarked that she was now stuck there after Ben built a garden feature over the grave.

Thoughts

The sheer size of the ‘what happened’ section above says it all – there was just so much going on this episode (and I kept it as brief as I could). No one can accuse the show of holding back or taking its time. Straight out of the gate the mystery behind Constance’s remark to Moira, about how she had killed already, were clarified in the opening scene set in 1983.

I don’t know if it was make-up, good lighting, CGI or a combination of some of those things that de-aged Constance for that scene but it was a flawless effect. And certainly interesting to see that Moira was a young woman when she was killed. There was a later remark about how women see the soul of the person, and men see only what they want to see. It was established here, by Ben and the detective, that when they look at Moira they see her as a sexy, flirtatious young woman. Women, meanwhile, see her as a withering, fussy old lady, which is apparently what her real soul appears to be.

I did enjoy the scene where Ben argued for Moira to be removed from the house, whilst Vivien defended her. The innate comedy as Ben described her coming on to him when we know that, to Vivien, he’s talking about this rather unpleasant and puritanical old woman was highly amusing.

The matter of her bones being buried in the grounds seemingly linked to her inability to be free is a curious one. Could it possibly be that all of the ghostly folk lurking around the building are there because their remains are dotted about the place (perhaps in the basement?). Hard to imagine that, since I fully expect there to be a whole host of other people to be killed in the murder house and appear as a spirit as the show goes on.

I’d imagine there will be a re-appearance from Constance’s husband before too long, for one thing. Just another plot line thrown into a whole stew of the things.

As I sort of expected, the selling of the house and moving out is not going to be easy, and without it the Harmon family are not going to be able to move. The moment where Vivien’s unborn baby seemed to be imperilled when she was away from the house, and calmed when she returned to it, might become something that really anchors her to the place. Once she makes a firm connection that the life of her child demands she remain at the house then there she will surely stay.

The history of the murder house was an interesting one, shedding some light on the jars of baby parts and strange splices sometimes seen in the basement. There’s the possibility that the thing in the basement is a product of the murderous abortion doctor’s experiments but right now I don’t feel like I know anything near enough to hazard further speculation.

This episode seemed to be tapping into the vibe of Stir Of Echoes, just as previous episodes have hinted at the likes of The Strangers (intruders in the house) and The Shining (ghostly twins). There are no doubt numerous other intentional movie references, as though American Horror Story wants to distil as many American horror movie inferences into its DNA.

Ben had a lot of hassle to contend with this episode, when he wasn’t inexplicably zoning out and being drawn to Moira’s burial place, he had blood on his hands, a mistress becoming increasingly uncontrollable, temptation issues with his hot maid and Burnt Face Man haranguing him for money so he can plough on with his ambitions of making it on the stage (possibly the most demented plot in the show so far!).

It’s unclear to me why Ben was so possessed to start digging the hole. There was no obvious suggestion to what was motivating him. But then there’s a lot that’s not known. Like what Burnt Face Man really wants with Ben (he seems to be helping him but twice now he’s displayed a sinister smile that suggests he’s up to no good). And what did the wordless exchange between Constance and Tate signify? And, and, and. . . well, I could go on and on.

If anything, American Horror Story potentially runs the risk of losing its character humanity beneath the intrigue, secrets and supernatural goings on. There was very little Violet this episode, so really I had to hang my empathy with Vivien and Ben. Ben I enjoy watching, though I certainly don’t identify with him and I can’t say I particularly like him. Vivien, however, I do like – I think the actress playing her really sells her as a forthright, fragile and fully-realised person and it’s perhaps the fact that she, a woman, seems to be taking the leading role that is all the more startling – in a good way. Make me care about all the Harmon family as much, if not more, than I just care for Vivien right now and this is a show that could really be something special.

What was the best part?

Hard to better the opening scene, with a more youthful Constance taking brutal (and rather unjust) revenge against Moira and her cheating husband. The shootings were remarkably cold – one through the eye for Moira (loved how Constance would later be delighted by what a crack shot she had been!) and several in the chest for her husband. Even the close out of the scene, shifting to the present day, making you think Vivien was about to walk in on the gruesome scene was nicely done.

What do I think will happen next?

Some clarity about the trinity of Constance, Tate and Moira is needed. Previous notions that Tate is Constance’s son don’t easily shake off, but how acquainted they are with ghosts and what their larger agenda is all about are sure to be ongoing concerns. It’s tempting to think all three of them are ghosts, but I don’t really see Constance being one. Moira is, Tate might be. If Tate is, maybe Constance was also responsible for his death!

American Horror Story: S01 Ep02 – Home Invasion

What happened?

When Ben receives word from the girl he cheated with that she is pregnant he goes to be with her whilst she has an abortion. Despite apparently dealing with it maturely it is evident she still has feelings for him and he, meanwhile, is still wrestling with repressed sexual urges that are creating turmoil within.

In Ben’s absence, Vivien and Violet are alone in the house when a trio of murderer enthusiasts break into the house and attempt to recreate a murder that happened in the property during the 1970s. However, with the girls staging a fightback and Tate inexplicably being in the house, the murderer’s meet their comeuppance by a variety of grisly ends.

Ben returns to find his family somewhat traumatised but alive. Pregnant Vivien, however, fearing for the life of her unborn child and the wellbeing of herself and her family, has a determination to sell the house.

Thoughts

This second episode did feel like it had allowed itself to loosen the throttle after the riotous first instalment, but it did so without feeling like there was a lessening in intensity or misplacing the intrigue. Quite the opposite. It was a more standalone affair, self-contained, yet still kept a lot of weirdness ticking along.

I rather liked how it started with another flashback to an appalling occurrence in the house. It made me wonder if every episode will begin in this way – calling back to yesteryear to show some horrific moment. In that sense it would be a little like Six Feet Under, with a little pre-credits mini-story that then feeds into the rest of the episode but also serves as an enjoyable vignette all by itself. Fingers crossed that’s the case.

The weakest part of the episode, and also a bit confusing for me, was Ben’s away trip to meet his ‘mistress’ and perform the abortion. For some reason, and I’m not sure why, I was under the impression that Ben had his affair and got caught quite some time before they eventually moved house. I’m prepared to accept that’s the case and I’ve just got it wrong, but it did initially make me wonder if this wasn’t someone else he’d been playing around with. However, with her speaking about who she was to him and so forth I have become convinced she was the same girl he cheated with but the timings all felt off.

Clearly she is still in love with him and wants him for herself, and even more clearly he’s a man bubbling with sexual repression issues. Is he a sex addict? Or is it simply that the sheer lack of sexual activity with his wife has left him a troubled mess? It’s hard to figure that not getting any action would reduce him to sobbing under a public bridge during a jog, so I await further details on his particular psycho-sexual problems.

Ben being out of the way did allow for the episode’s most intense sequence as there came a knock at the door. . . I assumed something supernatural was occurring when the girl showed up with blood on her head, like a recreation of the opening scene it felt like this was some strange entity using a familiar method to get into the house.

Turned out the intruders here were real people (two episodes in and already normal, human being villains feel refreshing!). It didn’t take long for the bizarre to kick in, however, with Tate appearing in the house – tellingly the question of what he was doing there wasn’t revealed.

Constance did mention that she had a son. I wonder, then, is Tate her son? Only Ben did seem to be talking on the phone with Tate’s parents so that seems a little off. In the freaky world of American Horror Story I wouldn’t have been too surprised to learn that the hunky young man Constance was ‘entertaining’ turned out to be her son! In reality he might just be the man in the gimp suit, or he’s a character being loaded now to be introduced later.

Whatever or whoever Tate is (he did remark that he has bloody visions, as we saw in the previous episode, so for now I am sticking with the notion that he is a living flesh and blood person!), he was once again imploring Violet to lure people down to the basement. The twins were the ‘ghosts of the week’ last episode, this time it was the murdered girls made to dress as nurses. I get the impression that before this first season is even done the house is going to be apparently teeming with the restless dead!

The fact that they must surely remain in the house for the season does render the ending statements of intent to move rather empty. Either Vivien will have a change of heart, or circumstances will dictate that they can’t leave even though they want to. I am plumping for the former – the latter seems a bit extreme at this stage!

Certainly a strong episode, though, and considering how hard an act to follow episode one was I am all the more impressed. I still have a slight question mark pondering how long a show like this can sustain itself just being continuously like this, but beyond that it’s the most exciting and interesting show I’ve been introduced to. When it’s on you just can’t afford to take your attention away in case you miss something.

What was the best part?

The scene where one of the murderers rang the doorbell and recreated the original murderer’s ruse to gain entry into the house was genuinely unsettling stuff. I also liked how Vivien showed guts and guile and refused access, but all the while there were other figures in the house already. . . Yikes!

What do I think will happen next?

As stated, I don’t believe that Vivien will get her ambition of selling the house and moving out to fruition. Circumstances or a change of heart will dictate that she doesn’t achieve that end and the family will remain exactly where they are to endure whatever horrors are presented to them. If they survive, they’ll probably just become slightly stranger as a consequence – like Constance and Tate!

American Horror Story: S01 Ep01 – Pilot

What happened?

After a traumatic miscarriage, and subsequent infidelity, the Harmon family relocate across country to a new home to try and rebuild their life. The house they have moved into, however, has a history littered with death and strange goings on, and it doesn’t take long before these become manifest.

A housekeeper arrives that wife Vivien perceives as an old woman, only husband Ben perceives her as a sultry and seductive young woman. The next door neighbour, Constance, also claims to have killed her once already, whilst she seemingly wanders freely about the house to collect her daughter, Adelaide, and pilfer items. There’s ghostly apparitions of murdered twins, a figure in a gimp suit that has sex with Vivien (potentially getting her pregnant) and Ben is prone to sleepwalking and lighting fires.

Daughter Violet experiences bullies at the new school, but befriends one of her psychiatric father’s patience, Tate. The two combine to terrorise the bully but the resulting chaos and monstrous glimpses freaks Violet out enough to tell Tate to leave.

Thoughts

Whoa. I honestly can’t say I expected that! Before watching the programme the brief adverts and promos I’d seen suggested American Horror Story was going to take the well-used plot mechanic of a family moving to a new house that turns out to have spooky goings on. To that extent I got what I expected. But boy did I get a whole lot more.

The pre-credit sequence delivered enough messed up material to set its stall out, with the obnoxious twins meeting a sticky end after being attacked by something toothy and unpleasant in the basement. The introduction of young Adelaide issuing warnings of their death just added to the totally unsettling vibe. The proceeding hour just went on to throw a series of quickly-edited, fast-paced disturbing events, characters and moments with little recourse for pacing or exposition.

Where to start? The eerie housekeeper, who appears as a half-blind old-woman to Vivien and a teasing harlot to Ben? As if she wasn’t peculiar enough next door neighbour Constance then made the remark about how she had killed her once already!

Let’s just examine that for a second. First it loads the idea that the housekeeper is a ghost. Furthermore that Constance murdered her. And further to that, Constance can see her and accepts her as a ghost without a qualm! That’s a hell of a lot to digest in one quick remark.

Constance is an absolute delicious joy, though. Her introduction to Vivien was pierced with horrible sentiments and outrageous statements, yet all delivered with calming surface pleasantry. Her tale of wanting to be a Hollywood actress before “the mongoloid” showed up was truly breathtaking, and yet she’d later undercut her apparent cruel scorn of her child by threatening Vivien if she ever touched her daughter again. Like with pretty much everything shown here, all is not what it seems.

I did also like Vivian, too. Of all the family members she was the one that came across as the strongest, though she’s not without her weird qualities. There was the suggestion that she was medicated during her sexual encounter with the man in the gimp suit – though quite what he was all about, and what it may mean for her pregnancy, is literally too bonkers right now to even fathom.

Ben is certainly troubled. His sexual frustrations resulting in a cry-wank after seeing the housekeeper masturbating in horny form exhibited serious psychological issues. Not to mention that he has adopted potentially murderous pyromaniac tendencies in his waking sleep, like the creepy burns man said happened to him. And Ben’s the guy people come to with their problems! Which brings me to Tate, the teenager Ben was treating that has rejection issues.

I am struggling to recall if there was ever a scene where Tate wasn’t in the house. What I mean is, is Tate potentially a part of the supernatural fixtures and fittings of the house itself? He did catch a glimpse of what appeared to be his own form, with blood dripping from the head. And, of course, that scene in the basement where he appeared to be one with the beast that scared the life out of the bully heavily suggested he was a driving force to what occurred.

I was pleased to see that despite the deluge of ideas and rapid cutting into and away from horrific images, there was time made for actual character beats. The scene where Ben and Vivien had a row with one another, clearly an argument that had been bubbling and repressed, turning into much-needed sex was brilliantly performed. This show needs humanising more than most, just to anchor the preposterousness. Credit also to Violet, managing to come over as a likable, near-fearless yet also vulnerable teenager. The show has done great work in making three dysfunctional people into likable leads.

So I’ve been tremendously impressed by this first episode, and my only concern is that they’ve thrown everything and the kitchen sink into this pilot episode and blasted off with a momentum that cannot be sustained. It’s thrown a lot of crazy into the air in no time at all and converting all that into an engaging, long-running series looks like no mean feat. If the rest of American Horror Story can match up to the standard of this first episode then I’m set for a hell of a time watching it.

What was the best part?

Tricky thing here is that few of the scenes lasted for a particularly long time so restless was the pacing and editing. My favourite part was probably the very first scene with the ill-fated twins mooching around the house. Instantly creepy with young Adelaide, and hitting viewers with the grisly baby body parts in jars, it wasted no time in showing this show meant business and was pulling no punches. As opening scenes go, few ever grab the attention this sharply.


What do I think will happen next?

So much to speculate on! I certainly foresee Tate remaining a part of Violet’s life despite her objection to him. I expect Constance will make herself a constant visitor, too. In the long run Vivien’s pregnancy will surely turn out to be freaky, considering the gimp-father, and Ben is going to continue to be lured towards having sex with the housekeeper (with dire consequences) and potentially burning down the place and murdering his family (although this won’t actually happen otherwise it’s the end of the show!). Right now, the only thing I can predict with any great certainty is that all bets are off.